As the Middle East positions itself as a global education hub, the focus is shifting from access and scale to outcomes and global credibility. Institutions must now align academics, industry relevance, and regulation through trusted digital foundations. In an exclusive conversation, Gurudev Somani, CEO & Co-founder, MasterSoft, shares with Dr. Asawari Savant of Elets News Network (ENN) how governance-led technology and responsible AI can turn ambition into measurable impact. Edited excerpts
The Middle East is emerging as a global education hub; how will the region evolve from importing education to creating and exporting knowledge and talent?
“The UAE has already proven it can attract global education. The next decade is about a tougher milestone, becoming a net exporter of capability: research that reaches industry, credentials the world recognises, and graduates who build at global standards.
This becomes real only when every stakeholder feels the difference: leadership gets decision clarity, faculty get time back, students get momentum, and employees get better ways of working. The region won’t export knowledge through scale alone, it will export it through trustworthy digital foundations, where data, credentials, and quality evidence are consistent, auditable, and decision-ready.” – Gurudev Somani, CEO & Co-founder, MasterSoft
“At MasterSoft, we see our role as strengthening that foundation, helping institutions connect the academic and operational lifecycle so outcomes improve in ways people can feel and measure.” – MasterSoft
How can integrated e-Governance and cloud-based ERPs align academics, industry needs, and regulatory compliance while improving outcomes?
“Integrated e-Governance and cloud ERPs create a single institutional backbone, so alignment becomes a workflow, not a meeting. They help universities connect curriculum to employability outcomes, make compliance continuous through audit-ready processes, and improve student success by surfacing early signals that trigger timely intervention.
In fast-scaling, multi-campus environments, cloud adds secure standardisation and resilience, but governance must be clear: ownership, access control, and process discipline.” – Gurudev Somani, CEO & Co-founder, MasterSoft
“Our view is that the future is not just systems integration, but decision integration, turning institutional data into governed intelligence leaders can trust.” – MasterSoft
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With growing focus on upskilling and lifelong learning, how can ERP platforms enable continuous education while ensuring data ethics, transparency, and trust?
“Lifelong learning only scales when it carries credibility. A modern platform must support a lifelong learner identity, stackable credentials, and flexible pathways, without compromising academic governance.
Trust is the differentiator: clear consent and purpose, explainable analytics, fairness checks, strong access controls, and audit trails, so learners feel protected and employers trust what credentials represent.” – Gurudev Somani, CEO & Co-founder, MasterSoft
“We believe the next era of continuous education will be built on scale with trust, where transparency and ethics are designed into the system, not added later.” – MasterSoft
Bonus: As AI moves from experimentation to institutionalisation, what governance model should universities adopt to improve outcomes without compromising integrity, privacy, or trust?
“AI must be institutionalised like any other critical capability, through governance, not enthusiasm. The model is straightforward: purpose-first use cases, data governance before AI governance, transparent decisioning with human accountability, and continuous ethics and assurance.
If AI influences advising, progression, or eligibility, it must be explainable and contestable. Trust isn’t built at launch, it’s maintained through ongoing assurance.” – Gurudev Somani, CEO & Co-founder, MasterSoft
“Our role is to help embed AI into governed workflows, so institutional intelligence remains auditable, explainable, and outcomes-aligned.” – MasterSoft
